None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The mental health of young people is important now more than ever as mental health disorders have formed a significant burden in all societies (Patel, Flisher, Hetrick, & McGorry, 2007). Internalising disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are consistently reported as the most common mental health problems amongst Australian children aged between 7 and 14 years and are often less likely to be detected compared to externalising disorders (Australian Institute of Health, 2012; Klein, Jacobs, & Reinecke, 2007; Letcher, Sanson, Smart, & Toumbourou, 2012; Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich, & Linkins, 2009). However early intervention has been promising in preventing the trajectory of future diagnosable conditions as well as enabling adolescents to fulfil their potential Klein, et al., 2007; McGorry, Bates, & Birchwood, 2013). Perfectionism has recently gained attention for being a major aspect in sustaining the growth and maintenance of many disorders and underling a series of pathologies such as depression, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, eating disorders and even personality disorders (Dimaggio et al., 2015; Holland, Bodell, & Keel, 2013). Perfectionism refers to a tendency to strive for flawlessness and set exceedingly high standards for performance, accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations (Stoeber, Eklund, & Tenenbaum, 2014). Its trans diagnostic nature positions perfectionism to be an ideal target for early intervention. Self-compassion is a construct gaining prominence over recent years and shown to be an important predictor of wellbeing (Barnard & Curry, 2011) as well as directly targeting the key features of perfectionism (Neff, 2011; Neff & Germer, 2013; Neff, 2010). Self-compassion refers to treating oneself with care and understanding when facing personal mistakes, shortcomings and failures (Neff, 2003). Self-compassion has also been shown to be an effective intervention target for adolescents suffering from negative world views (Neff, 2010). Self-compassion looks to be a healthy way of targeting perfectionism. This intervention research project examines a self-compassion and CBT based program which is brief (delivered over x4 90 minute modules weekly). We are using a cohort-controlled trial to compare year 7 students who receive the intervention to year 6 students who act as a control group and complete the same outcome measures at the same time, but are not exposed to the intervention. We are interested in the efficacy of the program for mental health, perfectionism, self-compassion and emotion regulation outcomes.
Interventions
A psychoeducational program called Compassionate Brain (1 X 80min session per week for 4 weeks) will be run for middle school students. The Compassionate Mind program has been developed within a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Self-Compassion framework. The program seeks to provide psychoeducation about thoughts, emotions and behavior as well as encourage the development of skills such as mindfulness, self-compassion and helping thinking styles. Adherence to the program will be monitored
A psychoeducational program called Compassionate Brain (1 X 80min session per week for 4 weeks) will be run for middle school students. The Compassionate Mind program has been developed within a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Self-Compassion framework. The program seeks to provide psychoeducation about thoughts, emotions and behavior as well as encourage the development of skills such as mindfulness, self-compassion and helping thinking styles. Adherence to the program will be monitored through recording attendance at each session. The program will be delivered by a registered psychologist face-to-face and involve both lectures and small group work. The intervention will be delivered over 4 weeks and the sessions will be conducted at the school the students are currently attending. Content will include psycho-education delivery, experiential exercises, mindfulness practice, in addition to individual pair and group-based activities. Informational material will include powerpoint slides, short video clips and role plays. Finally, a series of questionnaires will be administered to measure outcomes prior to the program starting, 4 weeks later at the end of the program and a follow-up set of questionnaires will be administered approximately 3-4months later post-program completion.
Sponsors
Australian Catholic University
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
10 Years to 15 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Year 6 and 7 students attending a specific Sydney-based secondary school.
Exclusion criteria
Not providing consent or not being enrolled in the specific school.
Outcome results
None listed